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Gun Thread: Sunday Before Christmas Eve Edition!

photo courtesy Duncanthrax

Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!

Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be December 17th? It's dang near Christmas! Next time we're together it'll be Christmas Eve! And do you know what happens right after Christmas Eve? Do you know?

Q: Weasel, what happens right after Christmas Eve?
A: Christmas Day! Christmas Day happens right after Christmas Eve!

With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

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More Q&A
Q: Weasel, are we getting ripped-off again this week, content-wise?
A: Why yes, yes as a matter-of-fact you are.

Re-run Alert: Here's a fun look back at the guns of Christmas from yester-year featured on the December 2, 2018 Gun Thread.

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What red-blooded American girl or boy wouldn't want to find a Red Ryder BB gun under the tree on Christmas morning?

Thanks Santa!!

Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun

Introduced in 1940, the Daisy Red Ryder BB gun quickly captured the imagination of red-blooded American boys and girls across the country. Developed and marketed in conjunction with Dell Comics and the Western hero by the same name, the Red Ryder fires a .177 cal BB at 350 fps with a maximum range of approximately 195 yards. Careful! You'll put an eye out!

In the era before electronic distractions and overly protective parents raising impossibly overprogrammed children, the Red Ryder was often at the very top of a young person's Christmas wish list. A mainstay of backyard ranges, the BB gun was frequently their first introduction to shooting; teaching responsibility, safety and marksmanship. These were the days when stay-at-home moms told their kids to go outside and play in the morning and to be home before dark, never worrying about life-changing social injustices suffered on the playground, or worse. The fact that the Daisy Red Ryder is still in production today is frankly a little surprising, having somehow not yet succumbed to the rabidly hysterical anti-gun mob and toy fun-police.

For nearly 140 years, the company now known as Daisy Outdoor Products has been manufacturing air guns. Originally a steel windmill manufacturer, the company began making air guns in 1880 as a premium offered to farmers purchasing a windmill. Eventually the rifles were in such demand the company discontinued its main product line to concentrate on the air gun business. Today, the company actively promotes gun safety through a series of online programs and printed material and has an extensive competitive shooting program holding matches since 1966.

Daisy is but one of many manufacturers offering these types of programs. Do you know a young person who might benefit or otherwise enjoy participating?

Did you have an air gun, and was it a Daisy Red Ryder? Was it a surprise from Santa, or did you have to beg Mom and Dad for it? Were you allowed to roam with it at will, or were you more closely supervised?

Do you still have both eyes?

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Even Glocks Deserve Attention
Oh, OK. I suppose I should address cleaning a Glock, so here's a video of cleaning a Glock for you Glock owners.

Also, as an additional service to the Glock Owners among us, here are a few mental health self-assessment links.

I am a Deviant Glock Owning Misfit
Help! I own a Glock!
Understanding My Mental Illness - for Glock Owners
Glock Owner's Crisis Hotline and Support Group

You're welcome, and good luck with your recovery.

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More Model of 1917
Our pal hickok45 is back and shooting his Model of 1917.

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Christmas Gift Ideas

In a jam because you haven't finished your Christmas shopping and you're out of ideas? Well your Ol' Pal Weasel and MidSouth Shooters Supply have you covered

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Our Pal Turpentine: The Nectar of the Pine Tree

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The Earth vs. The Flying Saucers
We had an exciting clip from this classic movie last week, so what the hell, here's the whole thing! It's no The Day The Earth Stood Still, but surely a close second, and both feature our pal Hugh Marlow, although he was kind of a turd in TDTESS. Anyhow, enjoy this Christmas classic!

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Musical Interlude
I ask you, what better way is there to get in the Christmas spirit than two full hours of classic KMart in-store Christmas muzak?

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Special Gun Thread Musical Interlude Bonus!
Some cats covering Simple Man.

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Gun Basics 101
New video from the She Equips Herself gal with the first 2023 installment of the 12 Days of Carry!

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Cigar of the Week

This week our pal rhomboid scores again with this excellent review of the Joya de Nicaragua Black

Joya de Nicaragua is the oldest cigar company in Nicaragua, having opened before the diaspora of cigar families fleeing Castro's Cuba arrived and helped turn the country into the powerhouse of 'New World' (non-Cuban) cigars that it is today. I've reviewed their Antano CT (one of my favorite Connecticut's) and Silver (one of my first favorite Maduros).

The Joya Black is a very dark cigar, with a rustic looking Mexican San Andres wrapper. I tried the 'Nocturno', which is a corona (6.25 X 46). Binder and filler are Nicaraguan. The burn line was fairly well behaved, requiring only a few touch-ups. Smoke was ample. For a cigar so dark it did not come across to me as extremely strong, and the flavors were subtle. Coffee or mocha, and an overall slight sweetness. Overall a nice simple experience. The Black is available online for $7 and up.

Bigly Excellent, rhomboid! Thank you!

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Here are some different online cigar vendors. You will find they not only carry different brands and different lines from those brands, but also varying selections of vitolas (sizes/shapes) of given lines. It's good to have options, especially if you're looking for a specific cigar.

Cigarsinternational.com
Cigarpage.com
Famous-smoke.com
Cigarsdaily.com
Neptunecigar.com
Smallbatchcigar.com
Bobalu Cigar Company
Cigarbid.com

A note about sources. The brick & mortar/online divide exists with cigars, as with guns, and most consumer products, with respect to price. As with guns - since both are "persecuted industries", basically - I make a conscious effort to source at least some of my cigars from my local store(s). It's a small thing, but the brick & mortar segment for both guns and tobacco are precious, and worth supporting where you can. And if you're lucky enough to have a good cigar store/lounge available, they're often a good social event with many dangerous people of the sort who own scary gunz, or read smart military blogs like this one. -rhomboid

Anyone have others to include? Perhaps a small local roller who makes a cigar you like? Send me your recommendation and a link to the site!

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Ammo Link-O-Rama
I'm really very seriously not kidding around anymore. Buy Ammo
AmmoSeek - online ammo search tool
GunBot - online ammo search tool
SG Ammo
Palmetto State Armory
Georgia Arms
AmmoMan
Target Sports USA
Bud's Gun Shop
American Elite Ammo NEW!

***Mail Bag***

This week our pal Scuba_Dude sends in a real knee-slapper with this mailbag entry. Snoopy!

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Please note the new and improved protonmail account gunthread at protonmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. Future expansion plans are in the works for the site Weasel Gun Thread. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!

That's it for this week - have you been to the range?